Journal of Primeasia
Lactation, Loss, and Identity: A Qualitative Systematic Review of Embodied Grief and Meaning-Making After Infant Death
Sahar Hassan1*, Kareem Nasir Hussien2
Journal of Primeasia 7 (1) 1-8 https://doi.org/10.25163/primeasia.7110872
Submitted: 27 August 2026 Revised: 14 October 2026 Accepted: 27 October 2026 Published: 29 October 2026
Abstract
The death of an infant confronts mothers with a distinct and largely under-examined paradox — the continuation of lactation after the child it was meant to nourish has died. While clinical responses have historically defaulted to pharmacological suppression, emerging qualitative evidence suggests this embodied experience may also function as a meaningful site of identity work and continuing bonds, rather than solely a symptom to be managed. This qualitative systematic review synthesized qualitative and mixed-methods studies published largely between 2000 and 2023, with several more recent additions extending into 2026, drawn from phenomenological, hermeneutic, and reflexive thematic traditions across diverse geographic and cultural settings. Data were charted into thematic matrices covering study methodology, symbolic and embodied themes, identity processes, and healthcare barriers and facilitators. Five interconnected themes emerged: the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit as a compounding site of "surplus suffering"; lactation as an embodied paradox of grief and meaning; maternal identity reconstruction within a liminal, "whose mother am I" space; ritualized acts as an architecture of continuing bonds; and systemic healthcare communication as a decisive barrier or facilitator of long-term wellbeing. Parental coping after infant death emerges as a negotiated process in which the physical, psychological, and social dimensions of loss are inseparable. A shift from a purely medicalized suppression model toward a humanized, informed-choice model of lactation care may better support bereaved parents' identity reconstruction and long-term mental health. Keywords: perinatal loss; lactation after infant death; maternal identity reconstruction; continuing bonds; embodied grief
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